Generally, words are suspended in a sea of sounds, rhythms, and repeated patterns in poetry
Poetry uses fewer words than prose
Poetry uses creative and figurative language (subjective)
Most important aspect of the poetry is the feeling that it evokes
A successful poet explores the potential and meaning of each word, each syllable, and each line
2 types of poetry: narrative/story poetry and lyric/song poetry
Narrative poetry: May be lengthy, several pages of text or it can be shorter in the case of ballads and personal poetry
Lyric poetry: Does not tell a story but uses poetic style and devices to express or convey and emotion that corresponds to a brief moment of experience
Poetry can take different forms whether it is narrative or lyric
Ex: Sonnet and haiku
Must meet standards for form that define such elements as meter, rhyme, lines, syllables, and lengths of words
Exception: Free verse implies that the final form is the poet's choice and does not follow any meter or rhyming restriction
Why is Poetry Important?
Schools and classrooms are becoming increasingly defined by standards and tests
Poetry is an outlet for steering away from the monotony of these standards and tests
Speaks to the imagination, creativity and a sense of possibility
Not objective, scientific, or transactive; comes from within the writer
Written to look at, consider or reconsider representations of the world/self, not to convey information
Can be used as authentic text to help children become proficient readers and writers
What Are Tips For Teaching Poetry?
Teachers must find his or her own path to make poetry attainable for students
Introduce poetry in a simple and natural form
Form must be accessible to the writers; students must be able to understand the structure and to be successful writing within that structure
How Can Poetry Be Used in the Classroom?
Teaching phonemic awareness and phonics to young learners
Sounds of poetry in nursery rhymes and songs
Expanding vocabulary knowledge and word choice skills
Allows students to think beyond the literal meaning of words and explore the power of figurative language
Develop fluency (especially its prosodic elements such as expression, pitch, and pacing)
Word meaning in poetry is supplemented by the sounds, rhythms, rhyme, and meter
Teaching comprehension strategies
Since the meaning in poetry is not literal, the students will learn to use various strategies to break down the text including the look backs as fix it strategy, inferring, making connections, evaluating, main idea etc.
To interpret poetry, students must dig below the surface and use tools such as context, phrasing and rephrasing
Teaching literacy skills
Sequence, organization, word study
Teaching across the curriculum
Poetry can be taught with a thematic approach with a variety of texts in different genres
Raise confidence in struggling and reluctant readers
Troubled readers find ease in the short length of text in most poetry
When there is repetition, rhyme, and rhythm in the poetry it allows the readers to predict and figure out the upcoming words
Examples:
Two-Worders
Simple form of poetry to build confidence and promote success of the learners
Must have a title.
This poem has a maximum of 8 lines in total with only 2 words per line
The lines in the poem must be closely related and connected to be used in describing a topic, event, story, etc.
"Ice Crystals"
Ice crystals
Falling softly
So sparkly
Tiny droplets
Shiny flakes
Softly falling
Waiting quietly
Very cold
Couplets
Has only 2 lines that must both rhyme
Couplets can be placed together to form longer poem
"Sick"
by Shel Silverstein
I cannot go to school today,
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
I have the measles and the mumps,
a gash, a rash and purple bumps.
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!
Quatrains
More complex form of poetry
Have 4 lines and may follow 1 form of rhyming patterns (AABB, ABAB, ABBA, or ABCB)
Used to tell a story or ballad
Mostly melancholy
Appropriate for 5th grade because they require more planning and thought
"The Mountain"
by Donna Brock
The mountain frames the sky,
As a shadow of an eagle flies by.
With clouds hanging at its edge,
A climber proves his courage on its rocky ledge.
Rock 'n' Rhyme
Incorporates technology by using the Garage Band Apple Software
Adds music to words along with rhythm and beat
Represents poetry as a real world application
Example: The teacher can assign an entire project based on poetry and the Garage Band software. Students can create their own bands complete with an illustrated and creative CD cover, 10 song titles, possible tour dates, band member biographies, and complete lyrics to one specific song title written as a series of quatrains. The Garage Band software can be used to add sounds and music to this one particular song that they create. (This project can be modified to suit both younger and older grades but obviously the more detailed and complex project would suit the older students more appropriately.)
Video of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" created using Garage Band software
Moss, B & Lapp, D. (2010). Teaching new literacies in Grades K-3: Resources for 21st century classrooms. New York: Guilford.
Moss, B & Lapp, D. (2010). Teaching new literacies in Grades 4-6: Resources for 21st century classrooms. New York: Guilford.
Student Responses:
Kaitlin Farrell Citation: Foster, J. (1984). A Very First Poetry Book. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press. Reading Level: PreK-5 Suggested Literacy Strategy: Inferencing; Many of the poems revolve around a concept but do not state explicitly what the author is trying to say. Therefore, students could practice inferencing by activating prior knowledge, using text clues, and trying to “read between the lines.” Description: This book is a compilation of 102 poems written by different authors. Each poem is short (two pages maximum), most of them rhyme, and most are comical. The poems span over a wide variety of topics including weather, emotions (happy, sad, scared), school, friends, and animals. There are also more abstract poems or poems describing specific things such as “Pepper and Salt” and “I don’t want to go up to bed.” Nevertheless, they all are relevant to children’s lives and enjoyable to read.
Jeanna Calia Book:When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne Citation: Milne, A. A. (1961). When We Were Very Young. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co. Inc. Description:This book is a small poetry book consisting of a collection of detailed, humorous and thoughtful poems, as well as small illustrations. The book grasps a child's point-of-view and delivers the right tone of simplicity. In these poems, the author introduces Christopher Robbins and Winnie the Pooh. Reading Level: DRA: 38 Guided Reading: P Grade Level Equivalent: 3.5 Suggested Literacy Strategy: Students can use the imaging strategy in order to picture the images in their heads of the detailed text being displayed. Students can also use these poems in When We Were Very Young to learn about rhyming patterns and scheme. Most of his poems are written in ABAB rhyme scheme.
Randee Myers Book: Falling Upby Shel Silverstein Citation: Silverstein, S. (1996). Falling Up. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. Reading Level: DRA: 38; Guided Reading: P Description: In this collection of poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein, children meet exciting characters like Screamin’ Millie, Danny O’Dare the dancing bear, and Beatrice Bright. Shel’s poems bring children to places like haunted houses and Hungry Kid Island, which open up their imaginations to a world of fun. Suggested Literacy Strategy: The strategy of inferring would be most helpful as students read this book of poems. Because the message in poetry is often implied, it would be useful for students to “read between the lines” to better understand the meaning that is not directly stated in the poem.
Tom Medvecky Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein Citation: Silverstein, S. (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York. Harper and Row. Reading Level: Grades 3-5 Description: Shel Silverstein's collection of poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends are both humorous and educational. Students can learn to love poetry, a genre that is given little exposure in elementary school. The different types of poetry in his book will allow students the opportunity to examine and investigate poetry and all of its styles. His book is also filled with exciting and creative stories that will encourage students to think outside of the box and enjoy themselves while they do it. Suggested reading strategy: A good strategy to use is imagery. Imaging helps students see what the characters in the reading see and feel what they feel. By understanding those characters and putting themselves in the story, they can better understand the story. Poetry is often hard to understand because of its unique style. However, using imagery to focus on the characters feelings and senses then the reader can better understand the poem.
Jen Levine Book: A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, Book #2 edited by Bruce Lansky Citation: Lansky, Bruce. (1994). A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, Book #2. New York, NY: Meadowbrook Press. Description:A Bad Case of the Gigglesis a book full of funny poetry for children. The poems are by different authors and are all silly poems. Children will enjoy this book because it will make them laugh. Reading Level: Grades 1-5 Suggested Literacy Strategy: Students can use the predicting comprehension strategy. Students can predict what silly thing is going to happen next in the poem.
Michelle Bonnetti Book:The Ice Cream Ocean And Other Delectable Poems of the Sea Citation: Russo, S. (1984). The Ice Cream Ocean And Other Delectable Poems of the Sea. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepare Books. Reading Level: DRA: 28 Guided Reading: L Description: This book contains a collection of poems from various authors all relating to the sea. The illustrations throughout the book all have various foods featured in the sea in them. Suggested Literacy Strategy: I would use the imaging strategy for this book. It has a lot of fun and creative language and interesting ideas like the sand being sugar candy and rocks being cake. Students could imagine all different pictures in their heads and draw what they see for certain poems.
Kayleigh Shaw Book: A Child's Calendar Citation: Updike, John. (1999). A Child's Calendar. New York: Holiday House. Reading Level: DRA- 38; Guided Reading- O; Grade Level- 3.5 Description: A Child's Calendar is a collection of poems by Updike all about the months of the year. There is one poem for each month that relate to holidays or the weather for that month. There are also great illustrations that correspond well with the poems for each of the months of the year. Suggested Literacy Strategy: Each poem does a great job at giving specific descriptions for that month. Therefore, the imaging strategy would apply well to this book. Students can easily paint pictures in their minds as to what the author is trying to get them to see.
Liz Kalajian Book:There’s a Zoo in Room 22 Citation: Sierra, J. (2000). There’s a Zoo in Room 22. San Diego: Gulliver Books. Description: This poetry picture book contains over 25 poems which describe the antics and habits of several classroom pets. Using humor and colorful illustrations of many different animals, the readers will definitely enjoy this amusing approach to poetry. Reading Level: DRA: 28, Guided Reading: L, Grade Level: K-3 Suggested Literacy Strategy: Since this poetry book follows a format of introducing a new troublesome pet for each letter of the alphabet, after reading a few pages the students will be able to recognize the pattern. Then, the teacher can have the students use their inferring literacy strategy so that the students can assume the roles of detectives as they try to infer which pet could stand for which letter and why that pet would be troublesome in the classroom. The students would definitely have a lot of fun with this book and probably enjoy being the detectives.
Lauren Masco Book:Rolling Harvey Down the Hill Citation: Prelutsky, J. (1980). Rolling harvey down the hill. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. Reading Level: DRA: 24 Guided Reading: K Grade Level: 5.8 Description: This poetry book follows five male friends and their adventures as they terrorize others and each other. It discusses how close they are no matter what happens between them. It also shows the rebellious side of young boys as they secretly smoke cigarettes, get into fights, play practical jokes, and tease girls. It ends with the title poem, when bully Harvey gets a taste of his own medicine. Suggested Literacy Strategy: I think the imaging strategy would be appropriate for this book because each poem sets up a specific scene that students can visualize and interpret in different ways upon reading it. If read aloud to the students, it would be interesting to see how each child illustrates a particular scene, especially for the poem "Nobody Calls Him Jim" when the author goes into great detail describing a proper kid the boys refuse to play with.
Gianna Seidler Book Title: This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness Citation: Sidman, J. (2007).This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Reading Level: DRA: 38; Guided Reading: P; Grade: 4 Description: This book is a collection of 38 poems of apology and forgiveness from the 6th grade class of a fictitious teacher, Mrs. Merz. The underlying theme for all of these poems is derived from the original poem by William Carlos Williams of the same title. Here, Joyce Sidman creates a scenario where the class liked their poems so much they chose to compile them into a book for everyone's enjoyment. In terms of its setup, the first half of the book consists of poems expressing apologies from the "students" to others for such things as knocking down the prized vase while ball playing inside and eating the secretary's jelly doughnut. The second half is organized into poems of forgiveness as a response to these poems of apology. With humor that is bound to pique students' interests, this book sends the message that people can make right the wrongs they have done with their writing. Suggested Literacy Strategy: Despite the humor used in many of the poems included in this book, the overall idea of the importance of apologies in building and maintaining relationships is implied and very relevant to students' lives. Therefore, the literacy strategy of drawing conclusions would effectively accompany this poetry book. Students can be instructed to think about the topic being discussed, ask themselves what the author wants them to think, use their experiences, and put themselves in the author's shoes in order to make a conclusion about why the author included what she did and therefore receive this very important idea.
Erin Jackson Book: First Food Fight This Fall and Other School Poems by Marilyn Singer Citation: Singer, M. (2008). First Food Fight This Fall and Other School Poems. New York, NY: Sterling. Reading Level: DRA: 28, Guided Reading: M, Grade Level: 2 Description: This book is filled with twenty-nine poems about school. The poems are written by the twelve students in Ms. Mundy’s class and cover a variety of topics, including the bus, spelling, math, gym, art, food fights, science fairs, field day, and so much more. The pages are also filled with lively and engaging collage illustrations that children will enjoy. Suggested Literacy Strategies: Imaging would be a great comprehension strategy to teach using this book. As students read or listen to the poems they can create their own pictures in their heads and then compare their images to the illustrations in the book. Theme can also be taught with this book because all the poems in the book are focused around one central theme. Students can combine the little themes of each poem to come up with one big general theme for the whole book.
Megan Garlette
Title:Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons by Mary Owens
Citation: Owens, M. (1999). Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Reading Level: DRA: 30-34 Guided Reading: N
Suggested Literacy Strategy: I think identifying theme would be a great strategy to teach with this book of poems. Though short each poem and the collective work has definable messages about the seasons of the earth. Students may find it challenging and fun to pull information from the poems to support their ideas.
Description: This poetry book covers the different months and seasons in a year. It speaks to the cyclical nature of the change of seasons. The book combines beautiful art with well thought out verse that forces children to find the joy in all months and seasons. The book does contain religious undertones, and is based upon work by St. Francis. The poems themselves have minimal religious connotations.
Alli Clare Title:I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly retold by Nadine Bernard Westcott Citation: Masters, A. (2006). Joker. Mankato, Minnesota: Stone Arch Books. Description: This book is tells the story of an old lady who not only swallowed a fly, but multiple others insects and animals in a rhyming sequence. It is one giant poem, stretched across pages and pages of funny pictures and rhyming sentences. After each new item the old lady swallows the author Retells the poem from the beginning, including all previous items the old lady swallowed Reading Level: Grade Level Equivalent: 1.7
DRA: 13-14
Guided Reading: H Suggested Literacy Strategy: Predicting. I think this book would be good for a very young grades introduction to predicting. Each time the old lady swallows something new the author tells us why she chose that animal. Students can begin to predict what the next thing she swallows may be and why.
Casey Caruso Book:Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos APA Citation: Dakos, K. (2004). Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Reading Level: DRA= 38, Guided Reading= P Suggested Literacy Strategies: Imaging would be a great comprehension strategy to use with this book of poetry. All the poems in this book are written with very funny and vivid words. Kalli Dakos definitely uses these descriptive words so that the children can easily make images in their head of what is happening in the story becasue if the children are able to put themselves in the story, they will better understand it. Description: Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos is about a teacher, Ms. Roy, who just wants her students to pay attention to her. This isn’t hard for the students to do because Ms. Roy wears silly hats, colorful skirts, and has a graveyard for used-up pencils. This sixty-four page book is filled with funny poems and mini plays about the challenges and triumphs that may arise in the classroom. G. Brian Karas’s illustrations bring the poetry to life!
Christina Marino Title: A Giraffe and a Half Citation: Silverstein, S., (1964). A giraffe and a half. Harper Collins Publishers. Reading Level: 3.1; DRA Level: 30-24; Guided Reading Level: N Description: Children can enjoy this rhyming book about a boy who has a giraffe, who stretches it another half, who glues a rose to the tip of his nose, who uses a chair to comb his hair,…and the list goes on and on. The poetic verses and illustrations are both humorous and exciting for young students to read. Literacy Strategy: The imaging strategy would be great to use for this book. Children can picture what a giraffe would look like if he had all of the crazy characteristics mentioned in the story. It gives young students the chance to use their imaginations.
Margaret Molloy Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich By Adam Rex Citation: Rex, A. (2006). Frankenstein makes a sandwich : and other stories you’re sure to like, because they’re all about monsters, and some of them are also about food.… Orlando: Harcourt. Suggested Grade Level: 3-4 Summary: This is a collection of poems about different monsters. A lot of the poems involve food too. Each poem centers a specific monster. Most of these monsters are well known mythical creatures. This book would Suggested Literacy Strategy: I would use this book to do imaging in the classroom. A teacher could read some of the poems to the students and have them only listen and draw a picture of the monster in the poem.
Cynthia Antunes Title:LIVES Poems About Famous Americans by Lee Bennett Hopkins Citation: Hopkins, Lee B. (1999). LIVES Poems About Famous Americans. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. Reading Level: DRA Level: 40 Guided Reading Level: R Grade Level Equivalent: 4.9 Description: This book includes poems about many great and famous Americans. The poems are written by different people. Along with the poem which describes the person and what they are known for, the book includes a full page portrait illustration with the person’s name and years of birth and death. Some of the people included in the book are John F. Kennedy, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong, and Sacagawea. This book is great to use not only when learning about poetry, but also in social studies when learning about this famous Americans. Suggested Literacy Strategy: The strategy that would be the best to use with this book is the imaging. While reading, students will have a chance to practice making images in their mind since there are not any illustrations and since some of the poems are kind of abstract. They can use the words to create the imagery to go along with the poem. Their images should describe the person, setting, and objects described in the poems.
Jasmine Martin Title: Bing Bang Boing by Douglas Florian Citation: Florian, D. (1994). Bing Bang Boing. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company. Reading Level: DRA 38; Guided Reading: O Description: Similar to She Silverstein's poetry books, this book is filled with different types of poems that children will love to read. The book has a number of silly poems about candy and animals that children will find entertaining. Suggested Literacy Strategy: A good strategy to use for this book is imaging. Having the students paint vivid pictures in their mind of what they are reading gives students a greater understanding of the reading. It also allows students to uses their imagination while making theses "movies" in their mind because most of the poems do not have pictures to help students visualizes what they are reading.
Debra Szubrowski Title: Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City. Citation: Weatherford, Carole Boston (2001) Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City, Honesdale: Boyds Mills Press. Reading Level: DRA: R, Guided Reading: 40 Description: This book is a collection of children’s poems about life in the city. It includes poems about corner stores, sidewalk chalk, the Laundromat, kick ball etc. The poems are relative to children’s lives and easy to understand and the book includes colorful illustrations which help readers visualize what the poet is saying through the text. Suggested Comprehension Strategy: Theme would be a good strategy to use with this collection of poetry. After reading each poem, students could ask themselves what the poet is trying to say or trying to get them to feel and then combine these ideas and “subthemes” to find the main theme.
Everything You Need To Know About
Poetry is “not a rose, but the scent of the rose; not the sky, but the light in the sky”
Introduction:
What Are Characteristics of Poetry?
Why is Poetry Important?
What Are Tips For Teaching Poetry?
How Can Poetry Be Used in the Classroom?
Examples:
- Two-Worders
- Simple form of poetry to build confidence and promote success of the learners
- Must have a title.
- This poem has a maximum of 8 lines in total with only 2 words per line
- The lines in the poem must be closely related and connected to be used in describing a topic, event, story, etc.
"Ice Crystals"Ice crystals
Falling softly
So sparkly
Tiny droplets
Shiny flakes
Softly falling
Waiting quietly
Very cold
"Sick"
by Shel Silverstein
I cannot go to school today,
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
I have the measles and the mumps,
a gash, a rash and purple bumps.
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!
"The Mountain"
by Donna Brock
The mountain frames the sky,
As a shadow of an eagle flies by.
With clouds hanging at its edge,
A climber proves his courage on its rocky ledge.
Video of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" created using Garage Band software
Graphic Organizer
I Am Poem
Cinquain
Diamante
Some of Our Favorites:
Jane Yolen
Shel Silverstein
David McCord
Arnold Lobel
Jack Prelutsky
Bruce Lansky
Useful Online Resources:
Citations:
Student Responses:
Kaitlin Farrell
Citation: Foster, J. (1984). A Very First Poetry Book. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press.
Reading Level: PreK-5
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Inferencing; Many of the poems revolve around a concept but do not state explicitly what the author is trying to say. Therefore, students could practice inferencing by activating prior knowledge, using text clues, and trying to “read between the lines.”
Description: This book is a compilation of 102 poems written by different authors. Each poem is short (two pages maximum), most of them rhyme, and most are comical. The poems span over a wide variety of topics including weather, emotions (happy, sad, scared), school, friends, and animals. There are also more abstract poems or poems describing specific things such as “Pepper and Salt” and “I don’t want to go up to bed.” Nevertheless, they all are relevant to children’s lives and enjoyable to read.
Jeanna Calia
Book: When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Citation: Milne, A. A. (1961). When We Were Very Young. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co. Inc.
Description: This book is a small poetry book consisting of a collection of detailed, humorous and thoughtful poems, as well as small illustrations. The book grasps a child's point-of-view and delivers the right tone of simplicity. In these poems, the author introduces Christopher Robbins and Winnie the Pooh.
Reading Level: DRA: 38 Guided Reading: P Grade Level Equivalent: 3.5
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Students can use the imaging strategy in order to picture the images in their heads of the detailed text being displayed. Students can also use these poems in When We Were Very Young to learn about rhyming patterns and scheme. Most of his poems are written in ABAB rhyme scheme.
Randee Myers
Book: Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
Citation: Silverstein, S. (1996). Falling Up. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Reading Level: DRA: 38; Guided Reading: P
Description: In this collection of poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein, children meet exciting characters like Screamin’ Millie, Danny O’Dare the dancing bear, and Beatrice Bright. Shel’s poems bring children to places like haunted houses and Hungry Kid Island, which open up their imaginations to a world of fun.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: The strategy of inferring would be most helpful as students read this book of poems. Because the message in poetry is often implied, it would be useful for students to “read between the lines” to better understand the meaning that is not directly stated in the poem.
Tom Medvecky
Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Citation: Silverstein, S. (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York. Harper and Row.
Reading Level: Grades 3-5
Description: Shel Silverstein's collection of poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends are both humorous and educational. Students can learn to love poetry, a genre that is given little exposure in elementary school. The different types of poetry in his book will allow students the opportunity to examine and investigate poetry and all of its styles. His book is also filled with exciting and creative stories that will encourage students to think outside of the box and enjoy themselves while they do it.
Suggested reading strategy: A good strategy to use is imagery. Imaging helps students see what the characters in the reading see and feel what they feel. By understanding those characters and putting themselves in the story, they can better understand the story. Poetry is often hard to understand because of its unique style. However, using imagery to focus on the characters feelings and senses then the reader can better understand the poem.
Jen Levine
Book: A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, Book #2 edited by Bruce Lansky
Citation: Lansky, Bruce. (1994). A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, Book #2. New York, NY: Meadowbrook Press.
Description: A Bad Case of the Giggles is a book full of funny poetry for children. The poems are by different authors and are all silly poems. Children will enjoy this book because it will make them laugh.
Reading Level: Grades 1-5
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Students can use the predicting comprehension strategy. Students can predict what silly thing is going to happen next in the poem.
Michelle Bonnetti
Book: The Ice Cream Ocean And Other Delectable Poems of the Sea
Citation: Russo, S. (1984). The Ice Cream Ocean And Other Delectable Poems of the Sea. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepare Books.
Reading Level: DRA: 28 Guided Reading: L
Description: This book contains a collection of poems from various authors all relating to the sea. The illustrations throughout the book all have various foods featured in the sea in them.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: I would use the imaging strategy for this book. It has a lot of fun and creative language and interesting ideas like the sand being sugar candy and rocks being cake. Students could imagine all different pictures in their heads and draw what they see for certain poems.
Kayleigh Shaw
Book: A Child's Calendar
Citation: Updike, John. (1999). A Child's Calendar. New York: Holiday House.
Reading Level: DRA- 38; Guided Reading- O; Grade Level- 3.5
Description: A Child's Calendar is a collection of poems by Updike all about the months of the year. There is one poem for each month that relate to holidays or the weather for that month. There are also great illustrations that correspond well with the poems for each of the months of the year.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Each poem does a great job at giving specific descriptions for that month. Therefore, the imaging strategy would apply well to this book. Students can easily paint pictures in their minds as to what the author is trying to get them to see.
Liz Kalajian
Book: There’s a Zoo in Room 22
Citation: Sierra, J. (2000). There’s a Zoo in Room 22. San Diego: Gulliver Books.
Description: This poetry picture book contains over 25 poems which describe the antics and habits of several classroom pets. Using humor and colorful illustrations of many different animals, the readers will definitely enjoy this amusing approach to poetry.
Reading Level: DRA: 28, Guided Reading: L, Grade Level: K-3
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Since this poetry book follows a format of introducing a new troublesome pet for each letter of the alphabet, after reading a few pages the students will be able to recognize the pattern. Then, the teacher can have the students use their inferring literacy strategy so that the students can assume the roles of detectives as they try to infer which pet could stand for which letter and why that pet would be troublesome in the classroom. The students would definitely have a lot of fun with this book and probably enjoy being the detectives.
Lauren Masco
Book: Rolling Harvey Down the Hill
Citation: Prelutsky, J. (1980). Rolling harvey down the hill. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
Reading Level: DRA: 24 Guided Reading: K Grade Level: 5.8
Description: This poetry book follows five male friends and their adventures as they terrorize others and each other. It discusses how close they are no matter what happens between them. It also shows the rebellious side of young boys as they secretly smoke cigarettes, get into fights, play practical jokes, and tease girls. It ends with the title poem, when bully Harvey gets a taste of his own medicine.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: I think the imaging strategy would be appropriate for this book because each poem sets up a specific scene that students can visualize and interpret in different ways upon reading it. If read aloud to the students, it would be interesting to see how each child illustrates a particular scene, especially for the poem "Nobody Calls Him Jim" when the author goes into great detail describing a proper kid the boys refuse to play with.
Gianna Seidler
Book Title: This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
Citation: Sidman, J. (2007).This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Reading Level: DRA: 38; Guided Reading: P; Grade: 4
Description: This book is a collection of 38 poems of apology and forgiveness from the 6th grade class of a fictitious teacher, Mrs. Merz. The underlying theme for all of these poems is derived from the original poem by William Carlos Williams of the same title. Here, Joyce Sidman creates a scenario where the class liked their poems so much they chose to compile them into a book for everyone's enjoyment. In terms of its setup, the first half of the book consists of poems expressing apologies from the "students" to others for such things as knocking down the prized vase while ball playing inside and eating the secretary's jelly doughnut. The second half is organized into poems of forgiveness as a response to these poems of apology. With humor that is bound to pique students' interests, this book sends the message that people can make right the wrongs they have done with their writing.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Despite the humor used in many of the poems included in this book, the overall idea of the importance of apologies in building and maintaining relationships is implied and very relevant to students' lives. Therefore, the literacy strategy of drawing conclusions would effectively accompany this poetry book. Students can be instructed to think about the topic being discussed, ask themselves what the author wants them to think, use their experiences, and put themselves in the author's shoes in order to make a conclusion about why the author included what she did and therefore receive this very important idea.
Erin Jackson
Book: First Food Fight This Fall and Other School Poems by Marilyn Singer
Citation: Singer, M. (2008). First Food Fight This Fall and Other School Poems. New York, NY: Sterling.
Reading Level: DRA: 28, Guided Reading: M, Grade Level: 2
Description: This book is filled with twenty-nine poems about school. The poems are written by the twelve students in Ms. Mundy’s class and cover a variety of topics, including the bus, spelling, math, gym, art, food fights, science fairs, field day, and so much more. The pages are also filled with lively and engaging collage illustrations that children will enjoy.
Suggested Literacy Strategies: Imaging would be a great comprehension strategy to teach using this book. As students read or listen to the poems they can create their own pictures in their heads and then compare their images to the illustrations in the book. Theme can also be taught with this book because all the poems in the book are focused around one central theme. Students can combine the little themes of each poem to come up with one big general theme for the whole book.
Megan Garlette
Title: Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons by Mary Owens
Citation: Owens, M. (1999). Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Reading Level: DRA: 30-34 Guided Reading: N
Suggested Literacy Strategy: I think identifying theme would be a great strategy to teach with this book of poems. Though short each poem and the collective work has definable messages about the seasons of the earth. Students may find it challenging and fun to pull information from the poems to support their ideas.
Description: This poetry book covers the different months and seasons in a year. It speaks to the cyclical nature of the change of seasons. The book combines beautiful art with well thought out verse that forces children to find the joy in all months and seasons. The book does contain religious undertones, and is based upon work by St. Francis. The poems themselves have minimal religious connotations.
Alli ClareTitle: I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly retold by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Citation: Masters, A. (2006). Joker. Mankato, Minnesota: Stone Arch Books.
Description: This book is tells the story of an old lady who not only swallowed a fly, but multiple others insects and animals in a rhyming sequence. It is one giant poem, stretched across pages and pages of funny pictures and rhyming sentences. After each new item the old lady swallows the author Retells the poem from the beginning, including all previous items the old lady swallowed
Reading Level:
Grade Level Equivalent: 1.7
DRA: 13-14
Guided Reading: H
Suggested Literacy Strategy: Predicting. I think this book would be good for a very young grades introduction to predicting. Each time the old lady swallows something new the author tells us why she chose that animal. Students can begin to predict what the next thing she swallows may be and why.
Casey Caruso
Book: Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos
APA Citation: Dakos, K. (2004). Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Reading Level: DRA= 38, Guided Reading= P
Suggested Literacy Strategies: Imaging would be a great comprehension strategy to use with this book of poetry. All the poems in this book are written with very funny and vivid words. Kalli Dakos definitely uses these descriptive words so that the children can easily make images in their head of what is happening in the story becasue if the children are able to put themselves in the story, they will better understand it.
Description: Put Your Eyes up Here and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos is about a teacher, Ms. Roy, who just wants her students to pay attention to her. This isn’t hard for the students to do because Ms. Roy wears silly hats, colorful skirts, and has a graveyard for used-up pencils. This sixty-four page book is filled with funny poems and mini plays about the challenges and triumphs that may arise in the classroom. G. Brian Karas’s illustrations bring the poetry to life!
Christina Marino
Title: A Giraffe and a Half
Citation: Silverstein, S., (1964). A giraffe and a half. Harper Collins Publishers.
Reading Level: 3.1; DRA Level: 30-24; Guided Reading Level: N
Description: Children can enjoy this rhyming book about a boy who has a giraffe, who stretches it another half, who glues a rose to the tip of his nose, who uses a chair to comb his hair,…and the list goes on and on. The poetic verses and illustrations are both humorous and exciting for young students to read.
Literacy Strategy: The imaging strategy would be great to use for this book. Children can picture what a giraffe would look like if he had all of the crazy characteristics mentioned in the story. It gives young students the chance to use their imaginations.
Margaret Molloy
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
By Adam Rex
Citation: Rex, A. (2006). Frankenstein makes a sandwich : and other stories you’re sure to like, because they’re all about monsters, and some of them are also about food.… Orlando: Harcourt.
Suggested Grade Level: 3-4
Summary: This is a collection of poems about different monsters. A lot of the poems involve food too. Each poem centers a specific monster. Most of these monsters are well known mythical creatures. This book would
Suggested Literacy Strategy: I would use this book to do imaging in the classroom. A teacher could read some of the poems to the students and have them only listen and draw a picture of the monster in the poem.
Cynthia Antunes
Title: LIVES Poems About Famous Americans by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Citation: Hopkins, Lee B. (1999). LIVES Poems About Famous Americans. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Reading Level: DRA Level: 40 Guided Reading Level: R Grade Level Equivalent: 4.9
Description: This book includes poems about many great and famous Americans. The poems are written by different people. Along with the poem which describes the person and what they are known for, the book includes a full page portrait illustration with the person’s name and years of birth and death. Some of the people included in the book are John F. Kennedy, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong, and Sacagawea. This book is great to use not only when learning about poetry, but also in social studies when learning about this famous Americans.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: The strategy that would be the best to use with this book is the imaging. While reading, students will have a chance to practice making images in their mind since there are not any illustrations and since some of the poems are kind of abstract. They can use the words to create the imagery to go along with the poem. Their images should describe the person, setting, and objects described in the poems.
Jasmine Martin
Title: Bing Bang Boing by Douglas Florian
Citation: Florian, D. (1994). Bing Bang Boing. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Reading Level: DRA 38; Guided Reading: O
Description: Similar to She Silverstein's poetry books, this book is filled with different types of poems that children will love to read. The book has a number of silly poems about candy and animals that children will find entertaining.
Suggested Literacy Strategy: A good strategy to use for this book is imaging. Having the students paint vivid pictures in their mind of what they are reading gives students a greater understanding of the reading. It also allows students to uses their imagination while making theses "movies" in their mind because most of the poems do not have pictures to help students visualizes what they are reading.
Debra Szubrowski
Title: Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City.
Citation: Weatherford, Carole Boston (2001) Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City, Honesdale: Boyds Mills Press.
Reading Level: DRA: R, Guided Reading: 40
Description: This book is a collection of children’s poems about life in the city. It includes poems about corner stores, sidewalk chalk, the Laundromat, kick ball etc. The poems are relative to children’s lives and easy to understand and the book includes colorful illustrations which help readers visualize what the poet is saying through the text.
Suggested Comprehension Strategy: Theme would be a good strategy to use with this collection of poetry. After reading each poem, students could ask themselves what the poet is trying to say or trying to get them to feel and then combine these ideas and “subthemes” to find the main theme.